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Rep. Steve Lebsock says he won’t resign over harassment allegations despite pressure
DENVER – Colorado state Rep. Steve Lebsock, an Adams County Democrat, said Tuesday he’s received more pressure to resign but says he won’t after he was formally accused by a fellow lawmaker of sexual harassment.
Lebsock, whom Rep. Faith Winter formally accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward her at a 2016 legislative party and who was formally accused by another woman as well, said that no “fact finders” from the outside party conducting the investigation into his conduct had met with him yet as of Tuesday. Continue reading
Coloradans increasingly displeased with President Trump, poll finds
DENVER – Colorado voters are increasingly displeased with President Donald Trump and are looking ahead to 2018’s political races with high interest, according to a new poll released this week.
The poll from Keating Research, based in Telluride, shows two-thirds of state voters have an unfavorable opinion of the president, and three in five think he is “dishonest and tells lies.” Continue reading
Lake County undersheriff was fired; sheriff’s office employees to undergo new harassment training
LAKE COUNTY, Colo. – Former undersheriff Fernando Mendoza was fired by the county sheriff’s office in what was an internal decision, and all sheriff’s office employees will undergo additional sexual harassment training after the allegations, a county commissioner said Tuesday.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s office has terminated Fernando Mendoza from his position as undersheriff as of Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 due to several women in the department bringing allegations of sexual harassment,” says a statement from the board of county commissioners delivered to Denver7 Tuesday. Continue reading
Gardner ‘hopeful’ for bipartisan amendments on tax reform as Bennet slams bill
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner was a key vote in the Senate Budget Committee’s Tuesday passage of the Republican-led tax reform effort, which the full Senate could take up starting Wednesday.
Calling the committee vote an “important step” in the tax reform efforts, Gardner said the bill, which is still changing, “will increase wages, grow the economy, create jobs, and benefit hardworking Coloradans.”
The Republican from Colorado hasn’t committed to voting one way or the other on the bill, as he did with votes on repealing the Affordable Care Act earlier this year, but there were greater concerns over whether his fellow Republicans, Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, would support the measure’s passage out of committee. Continue reading
Colorado legislative leadership committee sets date for harassment policy review
DENVER – The first meeting to address the Colorado Legislature’s workplace harassment policies is scheduled for next month, top legislative leaders announced Tuesday.
The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council will have its first meeting to talk about the state of the harassment policies, and any possible changes that might need to be made, on Dec. 15. Continue reading
Colorado sends letters to CHP+ recipients warning that federal match runs out at end of January
DENVER – Colorado is advising people who use the state’s Children’s Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program to start looking for private insurers in the event that federal funding for the program runs out early next year.
The state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing started sending letters to the approximately 70,000 people covered by CHP+ notifying them that if Congress doesn’t act to restore federal CHIP funding, which helps fund CHP+ in Colorado, that the state’s matched funding will run out at the end of January. Continue reading
Affidavit: Colorado Springs pastor impregnated 14-year-old girl, she had his child
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The minister accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl had sex with her at least four times and fathered the child of the girl, who had just turned 15 when she birthed the child in September, new police documents reveal.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said earlier this week it was looking for more possible victims of 22-year-old Romello Leach’s. Leach is a licensed minister associated with several churches that meet often at the Satellite Hotel in Colorado Springs, the sheriff’s office said. Continue reading
15-year-old boy accused in deadly Longmont stabbing faces first-degree murder charge
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – The 15-year-old boy accused in the deadly stabbing of a Longmont woman was charged Wednesday morning with first-degree murder as a juvenile, though prosecutors will try and get the case moved into adult court.
The boy was charged with 11 counts in Boulder County juvenile court. The charges include first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony menacing and sentence enhancers that would kick in if the boy is found guilty. Continue reading
Report: Single donor gave $28.5 million to ‘dark money’ group touting Gorsuch for Supreme Court
DENVER – A single person gave $28.5 million to a nonprofit whose “dark money” was eventually used to buy ads touting Colorado’s Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court seat he was eventually confirmed to, according to a new report from MapLight.
According to tax documents obtained from the Wellspring Committee, a Virginia nonprofit, the committee received more than $32 million in donations—much of the money anonymously donated because of the organization’s social welfare 501(c)(4) status. Continue reading
Colorado’s Hickenlooper grants pardons for 22 he says have improved lives and communities
DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper granted clemency to 22 people Monday he says have “taken great strides to improve their lives and communities.”
“The 22 people I am pardoning today serve as an example that redemption is possible. I believe they will use this opportunity to continue improving their lives, raising families, and being productive members of their communities,” Hickenlooper said. “They have earned the opportunity for a second chance.”
The 22 pardons mean Hickenlooper has publicly forgiven those people, and come after each person’s completion of their sentence. Continue reading